Newsmakers

Jeff Somple Named to MD&DI’s 100 Notables
MD&DI magazine regularly covers the changing products, processes and technology that comprise the medical device industry. But every few years, they also honor some of the people who drive these advances to fruition. Such is the case in their recent compilation of “100 Notable People in the Medical Device Industry.” Mack is proud that Jeff Somple, president, Northern Operations, was included in this year’s list.

In the late ’90s, Mack saw about 70 percent of its molding and contract manufacturing business go overseas as big computer companies migrated toward offshore outsourcing of servers and mass storage devices, then Mack’s core market. The company had to diversify into new markets, build on its strengths. MD&DI recognized Somple for “heading Mack’s move into medical devices, and expanding (the necessary) quality management systems and manufacturing technologies.” Today, eight years later, Mack builds a growing list of medical products that represents about 30 percent of its customer base.

New Faces

Thom Hemler, formerly with Bayer MaterialScience, has joined Mack as business development manager for the mid-Atlantic region. As key account manager for polycarbonate sales into the Northeast territory for Bayer, he brings significant materials expertise, as well as a chemical engineering background. Before Bayer, he worked for Amerada Hess, Rohm and Haas, and Grinnell Corp., all in the Pennsylvania/New Jersey area, the region he will further develop for Mack. A graduate of Drexel University, Hemler holds a bachelor’s in chemical engineering, and has pursued graduate coursework in finance and economics. He has also completed professional training programs in sales, leadership and problem solving. An outdoorsman, Hemler enjoys running, camping and saltwater fishing. He resides in New Jersey with his wife and three children.

Bryan Campbell has also joined the sales department as a program manager responsible for several new medical programs at the headquarters facility. He brings significant quality, operations and lean manufacturing expertise to the table. Most recently, Campbell was operations manager for Guardian Automotive, Warren, Mich., where he employed lean principles to consistently improve productivity for the Tier 1 automotive supplier. During his eight-year stint there, he also served as quality assurance manager and quality engineer. Campbell holds a bachelor’s in business administration from Catawba College, Salisbury, N.C., and has also completed lean manufacturing modules by Toyota Production System Training and the University of Kentucky. He enjoys skiing and golf, and resides in Manchester Center, Vt., with his wife and two children.

Joining the sales department at Mack’s Southern Division is David Needham, who brings 25 years of plastics experience to the company. Before Mack, he worked for injection molder Technimark, Inc., Fayetteville, N.C., for nine years, where he was director of sales. Earlier, he completed a 14-year stint with Worthington Custom Plastics in Salem, Ohio, and later, St. Matthews, S.C., where he rose through the ranks to senior project engineer. Needham is an alum of Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio. Apart from work, he enjoys golf, hunting, sports and sporting collectibles. He and his wife have one son and reside in Spartanburg, S.C.

The purchasing department has added three – Beverly Proctor, Brennan Holland and Chad Erenhouse.

Beverley Proctor has accepted the new position of medical supply chain manager. Formerly with Siemens Healthcare (Dade Behring/DuPont), she brings 35 years of medical device experience to Mack, nearly half of which was devoted to procurement management for multiple sites within Siemens. For the past nine years, Proctor has served as director of procurement, where she was responsible for nearly 400 suppliers of direct materials used in the manufacture of clinical diagnostic instruments. Proctor has studied economics and business at the University of Wisconsin, Teikyo Post University and Western Connecticut University. She has also completed extensive coursework with the Institute for Supply Management and other professional training organizations. When she isn’t working, Proctor enjoys biking, walking and spending time with family. She resides in Weston, Vt.

Increased demand for contract manufacturing services has resulted in the addition of another supplier engineer within purchasing. Brennan Holland, a 30-year engineering veteran, has accepted the new post. He has held a variety of product engineering positions with the likes of General Motors, Chrysler, United Technologies Automotive and TI Automotive, all in Michigan. More recently, he worked for five years at NSK Steering Systems America in Bennington, Vt., where he was senior product engineer. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, N.Y., Holland holds a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. He resides in Shaftsbury, Vt., with his wife. An avid motorcyclist, he has been riding for over 20 years.

Chad Erenhouse, already a staff member in Mack’s finance department, transferred into purchasing as a procurement specialist. As staff accountant, he worked directly with the company’s extensive vendor base on payment terms, discount negotiations and the like. He will still handle vendor relations in his new position, but as a buyer for a new medical device Mack is manufacturing. Erenhouse graduated summa cum laude from the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, Mass., with a bachelor’s in business administration and a major in accounting. A Bennington, Vt., resident, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Bennington Young Professionals. He enjoys playing squash and cooking.

The headquarters plant has added a manufacturing engineer, William Rogers, Jr., who joins Mack armed with 36 years of manufacturing expertise. Equipped with extensive training in Kaizen, Six Sigma and Lean Manufacturing principles, Rogers formerly worked at NSK Steering Systems America, a leader in steering system technology, and Taconic, a manufacturer of advanced engineered composite materials. Before that, he rose through the ranks over an 18-year stint at Saint-Gobain/Chemfab Corporation, a high performance fabric and film manufacturer, where he concluded his tenure as plant manager, North Bennington, Vt. A graduate of Hudson Valley Community College, Troy, N.Y., and Southern Vermont College, Bennington, Vt., Rogers holds both an associate’s in mechanical technology and a bachelor’s in business management. He and his wife live in Bennington, and are the parents of four children. Along with work, he enjoys five grandchildren, fishing and playing guitar.

Gayle Kees has joined the finance department as accounts payable specialist. Formerly, she was staff accountant for Brazee & Huban CPA, Pittsfield, Mass. Before that, she spent 20 years at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Bennington, Vt., where she held various positions within the finance and imaging departments. A graduate of the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams, Mass., Kees holds a bachelor’s in business administration. While there, she was inducted into Delta Mu Delta, an international honor society in business administration. She and her husband reside in Shaftsbury, Vt., and are the parents of two adult daughters.